The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein was the 2004 Caldecott Winner. Philippe, an aerialist decides to spread a wire between the Twin Towers so he can walk across. His first intention is do this at night, but by the time he is ready, daylight has broken. Just thinking about how high he was makes me tremble, and I can't imagine laying down on the wire. He is arrested when he comes off the wire and steps onto the building. None of the police were interested in walking the wire to get him, which I completely understand. Any books including the Twin Towers have been popular, and I liked that this one involved a story that didn't include how they were brought down. I liked the way some of the pages folded out to extend the picture and show another perspective. There is not much text on any page, although there are some words that young readers may find difficult such as ledge, plummeted and secured. Many of my students last year were not that familiar with the Twin Towers because we were attacked the year they were born. This is a book worth reading in its own right, but could also be a discussion starter about what happened to them.